


Somewhere Only We Know

by PersianFreak



Category: Southern Vampire Mysteries - Charlaine Harris, True Blood
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-12
Updated: 2013-09-12
Packaged: 2017-12-26 08:58:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/964052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PersianFreak/pseuds/PersianFreak
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eric is a bar-owner in Nowhere, Louisiana, whose life was altered by the Great Revelation. A twist on CH's entire universe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first official posted story on AO3, after having posted for years over on FF. I'll do my best to post the next five chapters asap, but if you like this and are impatient then I suggest heading on over to my wordpress (which is under this same name).  
> None of this is beta'd, so please forgive any mistakes and let me know what you think!

_Chapter One_

You could definitely say that by the time an actual vampire of the non-Halloween variety walked through our doors, I had given up all hope of ever meeting one. It had been three years since vampires came out of the coffin – an expression that made me wince – but you couldn’t blame the undead for not bothering to stop by Bon Temps, LA, of all places. Not when New Orleans with its teeming nightlife was a mere five hours away by car, or less I suppose, if the rumours about vampiric super-speeds were true.

The night that I later identified as the night that changed my life was a weeknight in mid-May, though not even the heat could keep me from wearing what my best friend Sam called my city-boy jeans, because they were fitted dark-wash jeans that I’d been wearing with my signature white t-shirt and vest. Mixing some rum and coke’s for the folks playing pool, I was entertained to witness their game going to shit as they got progressively more and more liquored up, and I nudged Sam as he walked by me to get a beer for himself. At five feet and ten inches my best friend was still a good half-foot shorter than me, something that had been an issue with us ever since we became friends in grade school. Or not an issue at all, if you looked at it that way, because it had never stopped us becoming like brothers.

“Check it out,” I muttered and Sam followed my line of sight to where Arlene was attempting to climb Jason Stackhouse like a pole, probably because Sam had been doing paperwork in the back and I’d pretended to be far busier than I had been behind the bar.

“Did you shoot her down?” Sam asked.

“No, I asked her to go home with me. What do you think?”

“Smartass.” He punched me in the bicep and I laughed, handing him a scotch in lieu of the beer he’d been aiming for.

“It’s on me.”

“Thanks, man. Think Jason is upset that he’s always third on her list of potentials?” 

I smirked, wiping down the bar. “Think Jason has enough brain power to draw that conclusion?” 

“I don’t know, women hitting on him is the one thing he pays attention to,” Sam shrugged.

“Are you upset that I’m always first on her list?” I asked, batting my eyelashes and laughing when he slapped the back of my head.

“I’m all torn up inside.” We fell silent as Arlene’s hand ghosted over Jason’s cock and his eyes widened as it finally dawned on him that Arlene wasn’t just being friendly. Or if she was, her definition of “friends” was the kind that could make a whore blush.

It was at that moment, on a night so filled with familiarity that it was practically non-descript, that she walked into Outlaws’ and knocked the well-versed routine of our lives completely out of whack.

The thing was that she slipped in silently, not drawing any attention to herself as she slid into a booth in the corner and busied herself with the menu tucked into the condiments basket.

“Am I losing it or is that a vamp?” Sam muttered and the woman’s mouth twitched. It was definitely my turn to hit him.

“She heard you, dumbass.” Everybody knew vampires had flawless hearing. I threw down the rag and wiped my hands on my jeans as I headed over, pushing my horn-rimmed glasses up my nose as I went. “Hey there. Welcome to Outlaws’, what can I get you?” Up close it became obvious that she was absolutely gorgeous; perfectly curvy with delicate features, full lips and wavy blonde hair that reached her waist. When she spoke her voice was soft and cool, confident, and I wished she would speak more just so I could hear her Southern drawl even though everyone else around these parts had one too.

“Do you have any of that blood substitute?” She looked up from the menu and for a moment as she caught sight of me, her eyes betrayed utter shock before she tamped it down. I shook off the curiosity.

“We sure do. Just got a case of True Blood. What type do you prefer?” Blue eyes raked down my body and her nostrils flared as she inhaled, and I felt like a piece of meat – not objectified like I’d been many times since I’d hit puberty, but literally like I was somebody’s dinner.

“That depends on what type you are.”

I cleared my throat and gave her a flirty look. “A-negative.”

“Sounds perfect,” she purred.

“Coming right up. A bottle of A-neg for…?”

“Sookie.”

“Just Sookie? As in, Madonna or Sting?”

“Just Sookie.” She pursed her lips in what I identified as a smile.

“Nice to meet you, Sookie. I’m Eric.” I grinned, adding, “I’ll be right back with your drink.” Back behind the bar, Sam called me a pussy and I ignored him in favour of heating up a bottle in the microwave. 

“Everybody is staring,” my best friend muttered and I glanced up discreetly to find he was right. Arlene looked outraged while the rest of her pool-playing, liquor-soaked friends looked on in awe. The dozen or so other residents of Bon Temps were doing their best not to stare, even though I could clearly see Jessica Hamby rapidly texting under the table and whispering to her best friend Missy.

Sometimes, the citizens of Bon Temps had just too damn much time on their hands.

888

I groaned when I came and rolled off, pulling the sheets up to cover us when the air conditioning unit mounted on the wall kicked in. Dawn hummed happily as she rolled onto her stomach and propped herself up on her elbows to smile at me, her brown curls a bigger mess than usual. I couldn’t help feeling proud of how thoroughly fucked she looked, since there were literally times when I could barely keep up with her and her overactive libido. She’d told me I was the only one man enough to handle her, which had been a good ego boost if a bit upsetting when one counted all the men she’d slept with.  
On second thought, Dawn was like Arlene except not desperate, which made a lot of difference. Besides, her tits were fucking amazing and you could bounce a quarter off her ass, even if her personality left a little something to be desired. That little something being grace and charm, and manners too, sometimes.  
Oh, and a heart. 

It really was too fucking bad I actually liked her, Sam always muttered when I was around. He wasn’t completely off-base either; I didn’t mind Dawn. She was good in bed and her attitude I could handle, but only because I didn’t want to admit out loud that I was lonely.

“You gonna sleep over?”

That usually meant morning sex. I felt tired just thinking about it; the last remnants of my hard-on rapidly dissipated in seeming agreement, and I shook my head. “There’s a beer shipment coming in at eight.” I wasn’t even lying; this was my punishment for peacing out of Outlaws’ three hours before closing to fuck Dawn and leaving Sam to fend for himself. Sometimes, co-owning a business with my best friend was a pain in the ass, though I couldn’t really complain since it had become wildly successful; enough that Sam and I both lived quite comfortably and managed to pay a pretty decent wage to all our employees.

“Fine.” Dawn pouted.

“I’m sure you can manage without sex for a few hours,” I smirked as I pulled on my boxers and glanced around for everything else. My glasses were on the nightstand and with them on I rapidly located my clothes, checking in my pockets to make sure my wallet and phone were still there.

“Why should I manage when I can always find somebody to scratch my itch?”

“Indeed. Jason is always down, or so I hear.” That man was the butt of so many of my jokes. It was his fault; he was dumb as a doorknob and sluttier than any Playboy bunny, which was a shame because his Gran was the most fantastic woman I’d ever had the pleasure of meeting.

Now, Dawn scoffed at me for not taking the bait and I gave her a look because she really should know better than that. We had fun but I refused to put up with being mindfucked, and I was lonely but not desperate enough to put up with her shit. Once dressed, I bent down to kiss her cheek and wish her a goodnight, biting back a snarky suggestion that she call me if she couldn’t find someone else to ‘scratch her itch’. She had so many ‘itches’, she should get tested, I chuckled to myself as I got on my bike. In bed a while later, I folded my arms under my head and stared up at the ceiling. Sookie the vampire hadn’t come into Outlaws’ since that night last week, but it was common knowledge that she lived on the outskirts of town. Slowly, the rumour mill ignited by her arrival and continued presence in town had begun to die down, though it didn’t take away from the oddity of the whole thing.

With a groan, I recalled the person I had been fantasizing about as I fucked Dawn. I wondered what it would be like, having sex with a cold undead person, to be inside someone who wasn’t warm? Part of me was completely put off but a bigger part was absolutely fascinated.

The next day started far too early for my liking, which was anticipated but not any more welcome. The shipment was right on time but our barback Rene was not, so to say I was pissy and exhausted by the time the lunch rush hit would be an understatement.

“Hi, Happy.”

“Hi, Dopey,” I shot back and Sam raised his brows at me.

“Tough morning after your relaxing night?”

I ignored the jab. “I’m going to fire Rene.” And potentially break off my non-relationship with Dawn. I was tired of her attitude, and that squeaky sound she made when she was cumming.

My friend shrugged. “Do what you want, he’s a shitty employee. Was he late today?”

“I had to carry the boxes inside this morning,” I nodded.

“Tommy is looking for a job,” Sam told me with a look that told me he wasn’t sure he wanted his brother working for him so it was my job to convince him either way.

“We could give that a try as long as he doesn’t think being related to you means he can get away with murder. Honestly, nothing can be as bad as Rene.”

Sam gave that some thought. “I could have a talk with him. I’ll let you know. He’ll be on probation for a couple of weeks so we could see how he’s doing and then make a decision.”

I nodded as I gingerly rotated my arm to ease off the soreness, switching to the other arm as Tara burst in. 

“Hey, bosses.” She grinned, eying Sam up and down so I turned my head away from Tara to give him an exaggerated version of the same look. He ignored me.

“Hey Tara.” I turned back to smile at her while Sam blushed and tried to relocate his balls.

“Sorry I’m late, I had to go back and get my phone.”

“Don’t worry about it, it’s only a couple minutes past eleven,” I patted her shoulder and walked out of the employee break room, leaving Sam to be his adorable little self. Why he didn’t just ask her out was a mystery to me.

I checked in with our cook Lafayette who was doing some last minute prep work and he whistled in approval at the wifebeater and khakis I was wearing, a huge step down from what I usually wore.

“You like?” 

“I sure do, sweet lips!” He gave his own glossed lips an obnoxious lick and twirled his knife around so I would give him a 360-degree look at my outfit. I winked and smacked my own ass as I walked away, smiling when I heard his laughter following me out. Lafayette was probably the funniest person I knew, and the bravest for being an openly gay black man in backwater Louisiana. Somehow, his fuck-you attitude got him complete acceptance within the local community at least. 

Out in the restaurant I took my post at the bar, slicing some lemons for the few drinks I would be serving up to the lunch crowd. At least it was Sam’s turn to bartend for dinner, which meant that I could hang around and do my share of the paperwork or take the work home with me and do it on the couch, which I usually preferred. With that thought in mind I brightened up and got through the rest of the day quite easily, chatting with Tara, Holly and Jessica as the lunch rush hit and died out.  Tara had the misfortune of being the one waitress to work the gap between lunch and dinner, so when she began wiping down tables and tidying up the menus, I headed to the office where Sam was being a coward.

“I’m going to ask her out for you if you don’t do it, you know,” I told him as I stretched out on the couch we used for midday catnaps. 

“If I wanted to ask her out, I would ask her out,” he responded without even looking up from he monitor. 

“So you’re into the pining-from-a-distance thing? Sam, that girl has wanted you since you hit puberty, and she makes you act like a teenager. Just man up and ask her out already.”

“Shh, I’m busy.”

I sighed, rolling my eyes before closing them. “At least go out there and keep her company while I take a nap.” There was silence and I cracked one eye open to watch Sam do as I told him like he occasionally did.

He burst in ten minutes later and stood over me until I looked at him. “What do you want, Samuel?”

“Did you do this?”

I cast a look around the room. “Did I do what?” I asked cautiously.

“You put her up to this, didn’t you? Because I said I wasn’t going to ask her out you went behind my back and got her to ask me out?”

“Tara?” I grinned, sitting up. “She asked you out? What’d you say?” He stared at me blankly. “Oh my god, you walked away to come bitch me out, didn’t you?”

“I thought you were fucking with me.”

“You dumbass! Go tell the girl you’ll go out with her!”

“Will I go out with her?” He still looked like the thought of Tara honestly asking him out had never occurred to him.

“Well if you don’t, I might just have to kill you with my own bare hands.” I sighed and dragged him out to the floor where Tara was absent-mindedly wiping down a table. “Hey T,” I called out to get her attention and she looked over, turning to face us when she saw Sam. “He thought I had gotten you to ask him out just to mess with him,” I explained and realization dawned on her face, so I pushed Sam in front of me. “I’m going to be in the back, alright? Answer her with your words, Samuel.” As I walked away I heard Sam haltingly apologize and I smiled to myself, endlessly entertained by this turn of events. Not that there had ever been a shortage of women who wanted Sam; we’d always been the guys that had never had to chase girls, but Tara had always been shy in order to not draw attention to her tattered clothes and her alcoholic mother. It had been years though, of her quietly crushing on Sam and never having the courage to ask him out while Sam cluelessly dated other girls. It hadn’t been until after Tara came back from her first year of college that Sam had really sat up and taken notice; she’d started smiling more openly and being more confident all around, which I knew to be due to all the attention she had gotten from college boys, and so begun their seven-year mutual crush.

And I was completely done with watching them make puppy-dog eyes at each other.

Sam had better fucking say ‘yes’.

I was flipping through a catalogue for hardwood and wood-panelling options for the remodel Sam and I were considering when he walked back in, looking rather dazed.

“What’s going on?”

“She kissed me.”

Internally, I did a little happy jig. I formed a carefully curious expression, “Oh really? How’d that go?” My friend sunk down into the chair across from me. Well, I guess there was my answer. I left him to find Tara wiping down another table, though now with a coy little smile on her face. I smiled too and made sure the bar was also clean and good to go before calling out a goodbye to them both and heading home. As I made my way home I realized I wasn’t really in the mood to be alone so I only stopped long enough to shower and change before heading over to the Stackhouse property on Hummingbird Lane. I’d spent a huge amount of time here as a child along with Sam, back when we had been three tiny musketeers with Jason. Our differences grew more prominent as we grew older and our friendship faded, though my affection for Jason’s grandmother and sole guardian remained. I could see her peeking out through the curtains as I pulled up behind the house and I parked my bike.

“Eric! Hello sweetheart.” She beamed, meeting me on the porch. I bent down to wrap my arms around her and inhale the scent of pecan pie.

“How’s my favourite lady?”

“Oh hush,” she smacked me. “You know I’m always the same. Come in, come in. What brings you here?”

I followed her inside, “Just thought I’d drop by, see how you’re doing.”

“Aw, you’re sweet. Have you had lunch yet?”

“Depends on what you’ve got,” I winked. I was not about to turn down any of Adele’s cooking, or baking. God I hoped there was baking. The heavenly scents wafting from the kitchen led me to believe there would be.

“I just baked a pecan pie and there’s cherry peach cobbler in the fridge too.” She gave me a knowing smile and began to get out some plates while I got the coffee machine going.

“Oh Adele. Would it be forward of me to ask you to marry me?”

“You’re going to have to pay me far more attention for that to happen,” she winked and set down a plate with pie and cobbler in front of me.

“I know, I know. I’ve been really busy.” I pouted in what I hoped was a convincing manner and moaned loudly at the first bite of pie. I ended up helping Adele out with some housework that at the age of eighty she could no longer manage herself, not that I minded at all. She was like the grandmother I never had, since mine had both passed before I had been born, and my parents were considerably less affectionate. By the time I was done cleaning the old farmhouse’s gutters and dusting the chandelier in the living room it was just past five and Adele insisted I stay for dinner. Twist my arm…  
“Need help?”

“No, you just sit there and keep me company,” she smiled and set to making her famous Stackhouse fried chicken. After the amazing dinner I helped clean up before deciding to finally leave Adele be. I kissed her wrinkled cheek and gave her a tight hug before jumping on my bike. It was dark out by that point and I wondered if Sookie was up yet, and what a vampire’s evening routine was. A smile stretched across my face as I imagined her showering and having a True Blood; domestic things that would be so at odds with what most people would imagine vampires doing. To my surprise I realized I was looking forward to seeing her again, soon.


	2. Chapter 2

Three nights later my wish came true when Sookie walked in and took a seat right in front of me at the bar.

“What can I get you?” I asked, not hiding my pleasure at seeing her. 

“The same,” she answered coyly.

“A-negative, coming right up,” I smiled back and retrieved the correct bottle, popping it into the microwave to heat it. “How has Bon Temps been treating you?” I asked conversationally and she shrugged.

“Well. I’ve been busy with renovations to my home but it’s tough, getting people to get back to me when I’m only awake at night.”

I shook out the bottle and slid it across the bar with a napkin. “What do you need done?”

“Some electrical rewiring and I need a new floor. The painting I can do myself,” she added with a shrug.

“Well, why don’t I come over and see if I can help?” I offered. “I’m a pretty good handyman.”

“Even if you do say so yourself,” she teased.

“Oh I have references,” I assured her with a grin.

“Okay,” Sookie laughed. “When are you free?”

I glanced at the time, it was past midnight already. “We close at one, so I should be done here by two at the latest and then I can come take a look?”

“Sounds like a deal. I’ve got a book, mind if I hang around?”

I liked how casually she diverged from the vampire archetype, and smiled as I responded, “Of course not. Do you want to go sit in the office? It’s quieter.”

“I’d rather hang out with you,” she admitted and I felt my face light up with pleasure. I liked her, in that hesitant middle school way that gave me the butterflies and made me shy, which was all a new experience for me past the age of ten. But based on her actions I guessed that she liked me too, though I was unclear on how vampires went about relationships.

Outlaws’ was closed by half past one and I followed Sookie out to the parking lot where I hesitated, shooting a puzzled look at her. “How did you get here?” The lot was empty.

“I ran,” she shrugged. 

“Vampire speed?” I guessed and she confirmed it with a nod. “You’re going to have to give me directions.” She did, and opted for riding my bike with me. I smiled internally when she wrapped her cool body around mine and even rested her head on my shoulder, holding tight as I took us to her little cottage on the outskirts of town. She had a little porch out front and a comfortable-looking swing reminiscent of the one Adele had, though the paint on the window shutters was peeling and in need of some work. Sookie was right about needing a new floor, and I asked her what she had in mind for it and for the place as a whole. The front room was the living room and she had barely furnished it, telling me that she was waiting on the renovations before she really moved in. The kitchen and a bedroom were at the back of the house, and a little hallway led to the bathroom and the narrow set of stairs that led downstairs to the custom-built basement Sookie told me she’d had to ensure would be completed by the time she moved in. It was light-tight and quite secure, and happened to be the only room Sookie didn’t show me, which I understood. The place where you spend twelve vulnerable hours in would not be on anyone’s house tour. I figured I could do the job, free of charge, though Sookie insisted otherwise.

“I will accept alternative forms of payment,” I told her, shaking my head.

“Such as?” Her brow quirked upwards.

“Go out on a date with me.”

A small smile curved across her face, though she shook her head as she quietly explained, “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

“So you just flirted with me for fun?”

“It’s not that I’m not interested. I just don’t think I’m in a position where I can date you.”

“Because you’re only awake at nights?” I cocked my head to the side. She was keeping something from me.

“No.”

“I see.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” I grinned. “I’ll wear you down eventually.”

“That’s awfully confident of you.”

“It’s a gift. And a curse,” I sighed dramatically and she laughed at me. My phone buzzed at that moment with a text from Dawn, asking me if I wanted to meet up. I ignored it – she would just think I was already asleep – and put the phone back in my pocket. Sookie noticed and asked me if there was someone waiting for me. Was that a subtle way of asking if I had a girlfriend? Right after I asked her out? I wasn’t sure.

“No,” I replied, mirroring her earlier tight-lipped response.

“I see,” she smiled, not looking at all upset at my subterfuge.

For the next few weeks I would head over to Sookie’s on my nights off to help her with the renovations. We would sit on the floor and watch TV or just talk whenever I would take a break, and she started storing human food to offer me when I came over. A couple of times she insisted that I didn’t need to work so late into the night but I genuinely didn’t mind, the simple company she offered was more than enough incentive for me to stay with the work as my excuse, and as time went on I genuinely began to regard her as a friend.  
A friend I wanted to date, despite her continued resistance.

By the end of the three weeks Sookie’s little cottage had polished cherry hardwood flooring and functioning electrical sockets and lights, plus flawless paintjobs in every room. With the last stroke of the paintbrush I flopped unceremoniously onto the hardwood and stared up at my hard work, feeling beyond pleased with myself. Looking up at the sound of footsteps I saw Sookie carrying a slice of pie and a glass of iced tea for me, wearing a smile identical to mine.

“All done?”

“Yup! Is that for me?” She set down the tray and I dug in gratefully while Sookie sank down beside me to take a good look around. “What do you think?”

“I think it looks great! Thank you so much.”

“Don’t thank me, go out with me instead.”

She didn’t even bother responding to that, choosing instead to continue admiring the walls. Undeterred, I leaned back on my hands, my palms planted far enough away that Sookie was almost in my arms. She gave me a look to let me know she realized what I was doing, but didn’t move away. I knew I had to leave soon but was unwilling to accept the fact just yet, content as I was just to sit on Sookie’s floor in the silence. 

“I should go,” I murmured at last, desperately wanting her to ask me to stay.

“It is late,” she agreed instead and I bit back a groan.

“So I’ll see you later.” And with that, I left, sighing as I answered my ringing phone.

888

My head fell back against the wall as her lips eased around my cock and I groaned, enjoying the sensations washing over me. 

“So-“ I snapped myself out of the haze of pleasure, mortified and fairly embarrassed at how close I’d come to saying the wrong name. The warm mouth on my cock moved down to take in my balls and my groan grew in urgency. “So good,” I murmured, as a bit of a cover up for my earlier indiscretion and Dawn hummed, returning to her earlier task. The hand I had tangled in her hair pulled her away when I felt myself getting too close and bent her over the couch. I was rougher with her than I liked to be most of the time, but she screamed my name and begged for more anyways, letting loose a string of vulgarities as she described in graphic detail what she wanted me to do to her. I almost rolled my eyes but did as she so eloquently asked, and not long after she shrieked as she clenched around me. My climax, when it hit, was a paradox in that it was rather anticlimactic, and I sighed when I pulled out and tossed the condom into the trashcan of the small living room. Dawn teetered to the bathroom and I took the opportunity to pull on my boxers and pants. 

“I wasn’t done with you yet,” she whined when she emerged, her lovely porcelain skin still flushed red with pleasure. I cast about for an excuse as to why I had to leave, for the first time feeling incredibly cheated for not having an excuse like women did to not have sex for a whole week.

I really was a bit of a dick to Dawn, but she wasn’t a saint either. She brought out the worst in me but she filled a hole in my life, one without any other potential candidates.

Except now I knew that wasn’t right, because I wanted Sookie, but here I was fucking someone else because I couldn’t work out my frustration like a regular adult. Disgusted with myself and feeling quite a bit of unjustified guilt, I made up an excuse and left Dawn’s, knowing that this time had been the last time.

888

I spent the next night at Outlaws’, being irritated with everything and everybody. Tommy had started working and there were the usual small problems that arose whenever a new employee was hired, but where any other day I would have patiently helped him get adjusted, now I found myself passing the job along to someone else for fear of snapping at the poor kid. I was only grateful that Sam wasn’t around because he would have realized that something was wrong with me, familiar as he was with my usual coping mechanisms. Or failing-to-cope mechanisms, because try as I might I couldn’t stop thinking about Sookie and how easily I had pussied out of making a move. I should have kissed her, or asked her to go for a walk, or really anything other than pull that passive-aggressive bullshit, mentally begging her to make the first move like a low-self-esteem teenage girl before running off to lick my wounds by sticking my dick in the first available hole. I avoided Sam and going into work entirely the following day, choosing to let myself fall behind on paperwork if it meant avoiding my friend’s penetrating gaze. It was worse though, because after weeks of busying myself with Sookie’s renovations and work I suddenly had a day free of all obligations, which was a perfect opportunity for my mind to wander – inevitably – to Sookie. At a loss for things to do I went for a run, keeping it up until I felt like I was running the risk of my knees imploding and my heart failing entirely, not to mention severe dehydration in the absurd temperature and humidity. By the time I made it home my clothes were soaked through with sweat and my hair was plastered to my forehead so I headed straight to the shower. Out of sheer boredom I didn’t bother dressing, and so I ended up lounging about naked, and eventually jerking off for lack of a better thing to do. That didn’t help much, since the image I got off on was that of Sookie’s lips wrapped around my cock. Regardless, I cleaned up and made myself the most elaborate dinner I could manage before crawling into bed despite not feeling drowsy. Two hours later I shifted onto my side, growing progressively more frustrated that I still couldn’t fall asleep. It wasn’t too warm and I wasn’t too hungry or too stressed to relax, I was sure of it. Absently, I rubbed my temple and for the first time sensed the pressure that was no doubt the reason behind this bout of insomnia. It felt the way it did when I would swim to the bottom of the deep end of the pool, like my skull was being pressed, but much more subtle and I frowned as I tried to recall the last time I had felt this way, because the pressure was definitely familiar. The memory was right there, I just needed to place it, and when I finally managed it a grin spread across my face. I slipped out from under the covers and got dressed. The door creaked slightly as I opened it and I inhaled deeply in the cool night air, appreciating the light the moon was casting over my skin. 

“Sookie,” I called, glancing around the dimly lit deserted street for any signs of her.

“How did you know?” She asked as she emerged from the shadows in the far corner of my porch. I had not been expecting her to be so near and I jerked when I heard her voice.

“I just did.” I shrugged. I wasn’t too sure myself, in hindsight it seemed a little crazy. “What are you doing out this late?”

“Not really late for me. Vamp, remember?” Her lips quirked up in a little smile though something curious remained in her eyes.

“How could I forget? But why outside my house?”

It was her turn to shrug, and I held back the snort. She was so clearly holding something back, unwilling to share it just yet, and I let it slide for the time being. “Why did you come to Bon Temps?”

“That’s quite forward, isn’t it?”

“So is skulking around my house at two in the morning.”

“Touche.”

“Thank you. Now answer the question please.”

“I got tired of New Orleans. Thought a small town would be nice to live in.”

“Seriously? A small town where most people are afraid of you and the rest think you’re an abomination? This is where you thought you’d settle down?” I loved Bon Temps but the citizens had the tendency to be shockingly small-minded. The four years I’d spent at Vanderbilt had done quite a lot in terms of opening my mind.

She shrugged but offered no more.

“So that pressure I felt, was that you Glamouring me or failing at it?” I asked, the picture of nonchalance, and saw shock flash across her features.

“You felt that.”

“You were keeping me awake,” I grinned. “I didn’t know you could do it without making eye contact.”

“I wasn’t Glamouring you.” 

“Alright then.” I cast about for something to say, scuffing my bare feet on the wood while Sookie who had no needs for such human actions stood stock still.

“I’ll let you go back to bed. No more skulking, I promise.” She turned to leave but I reached out for her wrist, pulling her back to me. Later I would realize that had she really wanted to leave I wouldn’t have been able to grab her because she would have darted away at a vampiric speed, but at the time it didn’t matter. Her icy eyes flicked down to where my hand was grasping hers but I refused to let go, choosing instead to take a step closer. Her nostrils flared at my scent and I breathed her in in return, detecting cool mint and something warmer, reminiscent of sunshine.

“Why are you here?” I whispered and she averted her gaze with a guilty air.

“I’m here to procure you for my boss.”

Wow. I had not been expecting such honesty, despite hoping for it. I took a step back. “Your Maker.”

“No,” she shook her head and fixed me with one of those gazes that left me to interpret for myself what she was thinking. 

“You have to obey other vampires? Ones that didn’t Make you?”

“Do you listen to people who aren’t your parents?” She retorted.

“I barely listen to my parents.”

That earned me a smile. “Well, we have to listen to our Makers. It’s in our blood.”

“And why do you listen to your bosses?”

“Because they can make our undeath very unpleasant.”

“So there’s a hierarchy,” I stated and she gave me another look, her blue eyes icy.

“It’s in your best interest not to know anything about how our society works.”

“So why are you telling me these things?”

“Because you’re in danger.”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it; all I could hear in my head was Lafayette drawling, ‘Gurl, you in dange-uh!’, and her statement and its implications were so out of my world that I didn’t even know how to react appropriately. Sookie looked less than pleased.

“I’m sorry,” I held up a hand and held back the snort. “I’m the only child of two schoolteachers and I own a restaurant in East Jesus Nowhere, LA. You telling me, exclusively, that I’m in danger… It’s not quite going down smoothly.”

“Well, you can let me know when you’re done laughing,” she said, rather stiffly.

“I’m sorry,” I repeated and attempted to get a hold of myself. “Okay, why am I in danger? What does your boss want from me?”

“What do vampires want?” The corner of her mouth quirked upwards.

My blood. “Why?”

“Because you’re different.”

“I know, I’m a special and unique snowflake,” I commented wryly. “What do you want from me?”

She hissed, in frustration I thought, and rose to pace in what was the first expression of vampire agitation I’d ever witnessed. Though, considering she was the first vamp I’d ever met this wasn’t such a big deal. “There are a handful of bloodlines in the world, we call them the Divine Lines, that are… better.”

“Better how?”

“They taste better. Divine blood nourishes us more thoroughly and keeps us sated for longer, plus it tastes-“

“Divine?” I guessed and she snorted.

“Yes. But the bloodlines, they’re tricky. Not every person from the bloodline has Divine blood; it skips generations. It’s a sort of preservation thing, we think, so that even when a Divine is discovered, their essence will live on in someone who is of no interest to vampires. This way the Line can’t be rendered extinct.”

“So there are Divine gene carriers?”

Sookie nodded. “Your mother, she’s a… a carrier, I guess. And you are a card-carrying member of a Divine Line.”

How’s that for fucking special? “Hang on, how did you figure out my blood is… Divine?” I stumbled over the word. It sounded absurd, rolling around in my mouth.

“You gave blood, dumbass. Some vampire stole some bags from a blood bank and stumbled upon one particular donation that tasted-“

“Divine?” I grinned.

Sookie rolled her eyes. “Yeah. He reported it to my q-… to my boss, and we tracked you down.”

That dragged me out of my lighter mood and into a somber one. “So what are you going to do to me?”

“If I brought you in, you’d be kept locked up in a fancy suite where you’d be forced to feed whatever vampire is important enough to be able to have you. You’d be Glamoured until you’re as docile as a lamb, and you’d probably end up getting fucked by a whole lot of vampires that’ll feed on you. You’d lose everything you have, everything you are. You’d never see Adele or Sam or Lafayette or your parents, you’d never get to fuck a pretty girl because you wanted to, and you sure as hell would never get to see Bon Temps again.” She met my gaze defiantly and I sucked in some air, realizing that I was cold and shaking, a little bit.

“Are you going to?” I asked her quietly and she shook her head. “Why not? Won’t you get in trouble?”

“Probably. I’m sure there are some loopholes.” When she shrugged, I could see that there was more to it.

“Why, Sookie?”

“Because you don’t deserve that life.”

“You must not be a very good procurer if you’re this tender-hearted.”

Her eyes flashed dangerously. “I’m an amazing procurer. You’d be my first failure.”

“So you’re going to fuck with your own reputation because I don’t deserve to be held captive? I don’t know many people who deserve captivity. What aren’t you telling me?”

I waited for what felt like ages as Sookie contemplated whether or not to tell me the truth. At last she muttered, “In for a penny,” and faced me. “I’m a telepath. I can read everyone’s thoughts, humans and vampires alike, but not yours.”

Wow. Jesus. I remembered that line from Zoolander when Matilda tells Derek and Hansel about being bulimic and they blurt out, “You can read minds?!” and had to push it away before I laughed, again. So she could read minds. I suppose if vampires were real, it wasn’t such a leap to believe telepaths existed. “Because of my blood?” I asked.

“There haven’t been more than a handful of telepaths in the past millennium, and Divines are hard to find. I don’t know if the two have ever met, but yeah, my best guess is that it’s because of your blood.”

“Does this mean you can’t Glamour me either?”

She nodded. “I tried, the first night.”

I gave that some thought, relieved that I was different. “Reading vampires, isn’t that dangerous?”

She quirked a brow at how easily I moved on. “Yes, it is. That’s why only Pam—my maker— knows about it, and now you too. And before you ask, I don’t know why I told you. I don’t know why I’m explaining myself to you past the fact that you asked so I felt inclined to answer. It might be because you’re charming and good-looking.” She shrugged and I felt my face light up.

“You think I’m sexy.”

“I didn’t say that,” she shook her head but I could see the beginnings of a smile.

“I think you’re sexy too.”

“One of the many side effects of being a vampire,” she dismissed. “It’s alluring.”

“My attraction has nothing to do with your lifespan or your diet.”

Sookie made a sound in disbelief and gave me a long look during which the tension between us began crackling again. Or maybe it was just my imagination, but I certainly hoped not. I had never felt this way around anyone before; she made me feel alive, ironically enough.

“I’d like to kiss you, Miss Stackhouse. May I?”

“How chivalrous of you to ask, Mr Northman.”

“Is that a ‘yes’?” I smiled and she nodded, slowly, so I leaned forward and just brushed my lips against her cool ones, testing the waters to see if there would be more. I had my answer when she kissed me back, increasing the pressure on my lips until I licked at her mouth and she yielded. A switch was flipped then as our hands came into the mix, Sookie slipping a hand into my hair and mine lifting her up to give my neck a break, pressing her small body into the wall. So strange, I thought absently, that someone so small could literally break me with one move, and yet here she was kissing all thought out of me. Her fangs extended with a snick and I jerked back, feeling the sting of the two small punctures in my lip. Her pupils were dilated and it may have been the light playing tricks on me but her eyes looked to be glowing blue.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured, her cold hands gentle as they stroked the back of my neck. She was trying to soothe me, I realized, as if it had somehow slipped my mind that she was a vampire. After the initial surprise had worn off I’d been fine with it, if a bit intrigued as to the logistics and details that went along with having fangs.

“It happens. Right?”

“Yeah. You’re bleeding.” Nostrils flaring, she stared transfixed at my bottom lip and I leaned forward, trapping her top lip between mine and giving her access to my bloody lip. She licked it clean before sucking, searching for more blood.

“Would you say it’s divine?” I joked breathlessly and her unseeing eyes met mine before she nodded and resumed our kissing. Her fangs remained out and I quickly discovered, as she moaned, that stroking them with my tongue was quite pleasurable for her. Eventually it became quite clear that we were giving my neighbours a bit of a show and that we would either have to calm down or continue our mutual exploration of each other’s bodies inside, preferably in my bed and for several hours.

“Sookie,” I murmured when her hand dropped to my cock, wanting to ask her a question before she interrupted me.

“Yes.” I found myself pulling back to stare.

“I thought you said you can’t read my mind.”

“I don’t need to be a telepath to know what you were going to ask,” she smirked back before letting the smile fade away. “Take me inside. But don’t forget to invite me in.”

“Miss Stackhouse, please do come in,” I whispered as I carried her inside.


End file.
